Frost gives further explanation on Washington situation
Scott Frost addressed the elephant in the room with his very first answer during Nebraska’s spring football press conference on Tuesday afternoon.
Sophomore running back Maurice Washington, who made national headlines after being charged with possession of child pornography and violating the State of California’s new ‘Revenge Porn’ law after an incident with an ex-girlfriend last spring, was in pads and practicing with the Huskers when spring ball opened on Monday.
Frost said Washington would continue to work with the team on a “limited” basis but could miss some time as he cooperates with California law enforcement during the legal process.
“I’m troubled any time anybody that’s involved with our team conducts themselves in a way that sheds a negative light on our team and our university,” Frost said. “We take that seriously. Our players and everybody involved in our program needs to understand that they just don’t represent themselves, they represent our team, the University of Nebraska, the athletic department, and the whole state.
“That’s a lot of responsibility, but there’s a lot of benefits that come along with being a player at the University of Nebraska, too. I’m disappointed anytime there’s a negative shown in any piece of our athletic department.
“In regards to Maurice specifically, we hope we gain a lot more clarity on the matter real soon. To my knowledge, that process is moving along. Hopefully, we’ll get more clarity soon. We’re trying to keep him as close to a normal routine as a student as we can in the meantime. I think anytime anybody on our team behaves in a way that isn’t consistent with the values of our team or our university, they run the risk of losing playing time or putting their status on the team in jeopardy, but to me, it’s important to have clear understanding of the situation before that decision is made.
“And just to be clear: that decision isn’t made by me, it’s made by myself in conjunction with administration and the university. So, that’s where we stand right now. I don’t know a whole lot more about it.”
Frost clarified that Washington’s “limited” participation with the team this spring meant he would be on the field and practicing but wouldn’t do quite as much as he otherwise would.
“He has a lot of other things to worry about now and we’re going to facilitate that to try to cooperate with the investigation and everything that’s going on,” Frost said. “I don’t know if he’ll be at each practice. Again, that depends on some of the details on what’s going on with his investigation, and we’ll cooperate in any way we can.”
Frost and Nebraska received some criticism about the handling of Washington’s situation, particularly the fact that the team and university were aware of the potential charges and that California law enforcement wanted to question Washington, yet he was still allowed to play in all 12 games last season.
“I knew very little about this in the fall,” Frost said. “We didn’t know very much about it. The extent of what we knew about this was that one of the members of our staff was contacted for an interview by the Attorney General of Nebraska (Jon Bruning). At that time, several of us in the second floor (of Memorial Stadium) had a relationship with the former Attorney General of Nebraska and we contacted him to represent him (Maurice) in that questioning.
“At that time, I knew it was a matter that took place when he was in high school, and the impression I was given was that it wasn’t something they thought would elevate to a level that required any more action by us. The next I heard about it was in January, so I don’t know what anybody could’ve done any differently in the fall.”
Frost then shot down rumors that he and Nebraska officials actually knew more about Washington’s situation than they initially let on and opted to keep him eligible despite the serious nature of his charges.
“That’s completely not true,” Frost said. “Anytime that there’s an investigation or our players are questioned in any way, it’s our job to step to let the legal process run its course and cooperate in any way we can. There weren’t any charges in the fall. I knew the little that was told to me in the fall, and that was that he was wanted for questioning. Knew very little beyond that, and I don’t think it’s my place to do investigations.
“In fact, that’s when a lot of people get themselves in trouble. This will run its course and justice will be served. Again, I don’t think anybody could’ve done anything differently last fall.”